Blue Moon

Did you know that tonight will be the Second Full Moon in July (2015)? That's a BLUE MOON. 

I previously wrote about full moon magic and blue moon magic here.

Although the "Blue Moon" is a fairly new concept since there couldn't be two full moons in one month before the use of the Gregorian Calendar, because before then, the months were counted by the full moon cycles. 

However, magically speaking, the full moon brings light and clarity to the darkness of night. And the Blue Moon expresses a RARE and SPECIAL occasion. So, whatever you are planning for your full moon ritual, this one should be something monumental. 

The Blue Moon energy is special, and is always an ideal time for powerful spells. It is also the perfect time to make some BIG, "once in a blue moon" wishes and send them out to the universe. Use this time to charge your tools, crystals and talismans for an extra super charge of moon energy.

Whatever you choose to do for this magical time, make it memorable and spectacular.

Blessed Be!

                  

Moon Magic, Full Moon Oil, and Blue Moon Magic

The Full moon last night got me thinking about moon magic.

When working with the Moon, a simple rule of thumb is to use the New Moon to begin projects, attract money, help relationships, and aid in health problems, bring new ideas and new opportunity. It marks a personal turning point or time to let go of whatever is not working for us anymore in our lives. Bad or unhealthy habits, regrets or fears or even people and things that hold us back! This is the time to let go.

Use the Full Moon to bring energy to projects already started. Spells cast during a full moon are used to accomplish goals, charge magical tools, empowering. It is a time to take action on whatever rituals and spells you invoked during the New Moon phases. 

Uses of Full Moon Oils vary with beliefs and spiritual practices. It is mainly used in any magic workings, rituals or spells that harness or emphasize the magical power of this phase of the full moon.

Here are some of the uses:

• Wear as a Body Perfume to increase and deepen your psychic powers during a Full Moon 
• Honoring the Mother Goddess 
• Anoint candles 
• Add a few drops into a Ritual Bath when preparing for Ritual 
• Anoint members as they enter Circle
• Anytime you feel like you need the moons energy

Here is a very simple recipe for Full Moon Oil

½ ounce of almond oil
13 drops of sandalwood oil
9 drops of vanilla essential oil
3 drops of jasmine essential oil
1 drop of rose essential oil

Mix these together in a clear glass container before the evening of the full moon. Set the container outside under the full moon.

If you are like me and cannot leave it outside, either due to nosy neighbors, thieving local dogs, cats or raccoons, or maybe you live in an apartment complex…. Whatever the reason, don't worry. It will work just as well if you charge by leaving it on a windowsill overnight during the full moon.

Blue moon magic is a very modern concept. The term Blue Moon has come to mean, "Something that happens very infrequently" and is defined as the second full moon in any calendar month.

Before the conversion to the Gregorian calendar in the late 1500's, the months were counted by the moon. So, this definition of a Blue Moon would not have existed before then. A lunar year was 13 full moons. A lunar month is approximately 29.5 days. Therefore two full moons in any given Gregorian calendar month happen every 2 ½ years or so. But the moon does not actually turn or appear BLUE.

So, because much of the modern wicca and pagan beliefs today have many of their roots in earth/season changes that follow the moon phases and not the 12 Month Calendar, there really is no formal significance attached to the blue moon. But that doesn't mean that it isn't significant for you!

Some modern practices hold special ceremonies, and others only perform initiations at the time of a blue moon. You can certainly treat it as an especially magical time if you wish.

Welcome! May Day, Beltane 2015

Today is May 1st. What a wonderful day to start my new blog, "My Magic Circle". May Day (Beltane) has been celebrated by pagans for many centuries. Welcome Spring and Sunshine! This is the time of new beginnings!

Yesterday, Google's logo announced the celebration of Labour Day (or International Worker's Day). Here in the U.S. we celebrate Labor Day in September, so I had to look up the reason for the logo design. Apparently it is a day to commemorate trade union and labor movements of the late 1800's. It falls on May Day each year. 

Mayday originated in Pagan Europe and it was a holiday for the working class, and a festive holy day celebrating the first spring planting. 

The ancient Celts and Saxons celebrated May 1st as Beltane. The Celtic god of the sun was Bel. So, translated Beltane means "day of sun fire". For them, the day started at sunset, so the feasting, games, and celebrating started at sundown on April 30th. It was the end of winter and the return of the sun and fertility of the soil. It was a celebration of the season by lighting fires, dancing and singing.

These May Eve celebrations were eventually outlawed by the Catholic Church, but was still celebrated up until the 1700's. (mostly by peasants and villagers in small towns where the Church had little influence.) 

"While good church going folk would shy away from joining in the celebrations, those less afraid of papal authority would don animal masks and various costumes, not unlike our modern Halloween. The revelers, lead by the Goddess of the Hunt; Diana (sometimes played by a pagan-priest in women's clothing) and the Horned God; Herne, would travel up the hill shouting, chanting and singing, while blowing hunting horns. This night became known in Europe as Walpurgisnacht, or night of the witches."

From The Origins and Traditions of Mayday by Eugene W. Plawiuk.

The Celts celebrated Beltane throughout the middle ages with a similar god and goddess of the hunt, but as European peasants became more agricultural and less hunter/gatherer, so did their god and goddess. Diana became Queen of the May, representing the cycle of the fields, and Herne became the Green Man (or in some cultures, Robin Goodfellow - a predecessor of Robin Hood) representing the woods and the hunt. In later celebrations, a young woman was chosen from the village to represent the May Queen, ruling over the crops until harvest.

Photo Credit: Pete Ashton https://www.flickr.com/photos/peteashton/

The Maypole is a myriad of male and female symbols representing the God and Goddess. The pole itself is a phallic symbol. The wreath at the top represents the female vagina, and as the ribbons wind around the pole, the wreath lowers, representing the Divine Sexual Union of God and Goddess. The pole itself was a fir tree with its branches stripped (all but the very top). The custom of dancing around it was an ancient fertility rite, for young girls and women. Usually the Yule tree was saved and used as the Maypole. The wreath was created from greenery and the first blooms of the season.

As with many of the Pagan traditions and celebrations, the Christian church adopted them and integrated them into their own doctrine in order to win over converts from the 'Old Religion'. And so they became Saint Days.

The May Queen became a celebration of the Virgin Mary. Many cultures, especially in Europe, still celebrate May Day with the election of a May Queen, and dancing around a May Pole.